An independent voice for ethical adoption
Adopted overseas as children, they’re not U.S. citizens at all
From the News-Press:
“You have many hundreds if not thousands of children who were adopted and are here legally, but are not U.S. citizens and therefore not afforded all the protections of U.S. citizenship,” said Chuck Johnson, president and CEO of the National Council For Adoption, an advocacy organization.
More than half of the children adopted overseas by American parents become U.S. citizens when they enter the country thanks to the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. But the law doesn’t apply to anyone who was 18 or older on Feb. 27 , 2001.
“We’ve been in conversations with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Department of State and they know this is an ongoing problem,” Johnson said. “But no one has offered a fix.”
After adopting three siblings from eastern Europe, McLane Layton was surprised to find out the children aren’t citizens.
“They’re supposed to be treated like I had given birth to them,” she said.
Layton worked as legislative counsel to then-U.S. Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma, and wrote the Child Citizenship Act before founding Equality for Adopted Children.
Layton’s group advocates for adopted children to have the same rights as any child of American parents. The group has been unsuccessful in getting legislation passed to cover older adoptees who did not obtain citizenship.
“It’s no fault of their own. It’s neglect and ignorance on the part of the parents,” Layton said. “The adoptee should not be punished in such a serious way because of the failure of their parents.”
Access the full article here.
Follow Us
